Mask

ABSTRACT

A mask includes rigid interior shell for placing over a user&#39;s face and a resilient exterior portion. The interior shell includes a first portion and a second portion hingedly secured to the first portion. The second portion is operable to move between a first position and a second position in response to movement by the user. The resilient exterior portion is coupled to the interior shell, and at least a portion of the exterior portion deforms when the interior shell second portion is moved from the first position to the second position.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

This application relates to the masks and more particularly toornamental face masks.

SUMMARY

Face masks are frequently worn in movies and theatrical performances aswell as on occasions such as Halloween. Most masks are eitherpainstakingly assembled on and adhered to a user's face or formed from athin plastic or elastomeric material. The masks that are assembled onand adhered to the user's face are realistic looking, yet are bothcostly and time-consuming to assemble. Moreover, these types of masksare generally worn once and are destroyed when they are removed from theuser. On the other hand, the masks that are formed from a thin plasticor elastomeric material are convenient to use and remove, yet are farfrom realistic looking. Therefore, there exists a need for a mask thatprovides a semblance of realism while also being convenient and easy touse.

In particular, this application discloses a mask comprising: a rigidinterior shell for placing over a user's face, the interior shellcomprising: a first portion; a second portion hingedly secured to thefirst portion, the second portion operable to move between a firstposition and a second position in response to movement by the user; anda resilient exterior portion coupled to the interior shell, wherein atleast a portion of the exterior portion deforms when the interior shellsecond portion is moved from the first position to the second position.

Moreover, this application discloses a mask comprising: a rigid interiorshell for placing over a user's face, the interior shell comprising: afirst portion; a second portion hingedly secured to the first portion,the second portion operable to move between a first position and asecond position in response to movement by the user; a resilientexterior portion positioned over the interior shell, wherein at least aportion of the resilient member is capable of moving between a firstposition and a second position; and a band extending between theinterior shell second portion and resilient exterior portion, whereinthe band is operable to move the resilient exterior portion from theresilient exterior portion first position to the resilient exteriorportion second position when the interior shell second portion is movedfrom the interior shell first position to the interior shell secondposition.

Further, this application discloses a mask comprising: an interior shellcomprising: an upper portion for placing over an upper portion of auser's face; a lower portion for placing over a lower portion of theuser's face such that a portion of the shell lower portion engages thejaw of the user, wherein the second portion is hingedly coupled to theinterior shell first portion and wherein the lower portion is movedbetween a closed position and an open position in response tocorresponding movements by the user's jaw; and an exterior portioncoupled to the interior shell, wherein at least a portion of theexterior portion deforms when the interior shell second portion movesfrom the closed position to the open position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings, when considered in connection with the followingdescription, are presented for the purpose of facilitating anunderstanding of the subject matter sought to be protected.

FIG. 1A is a rear view of an illustrative mask showing the interiorshell second portion in a first position;

FIG. 1B is a rear view of the illustrative mask of FIG. 1A showing theinterior shell second portion in a second position;

FIG. 2A is a front view of the illustrative mask of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is a front view of the illustrative mask of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3A-3A in FIG.2A; and

FIG. 3B is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3B-3B in FIG.2B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1A-3B, wherein like numerals indicate likeelements throughout, an illustrative mask 100 is shown. The mask 100generally includes an interior shell 102 and an exterior portion 104.The interior shell 102 includes a first portion 106 and a second portion108. In the illustrative embodiment, the first portion 106 is operableto overlay an upper portion of a user's face and the lower portion 108is operable to overlay a lower portion of the user's face and at leastpartially engage the user's jaw. In one embodiment, the second portion108 of the shell 102 may include a chin pad 114 for engaging the chinarea of the user's jaw.

The second portion 108 may be hingedly secured, or otherwise coupled, tothe first portion 106 via any suitable means such that the secondportion 108 may be movable between a first position and a secondposition in response to movement by the user. The second portion 108 maybe hingedly secured to the first portion 106 via any suitable means,including, but not limited to, one or more elastic bands 110, one ormore living hinges, one or more mechanical hinges, etc. In oneembodiment, the hinged connection between the first portion 106 andsecond portion 108 biases the second portion 108 to the first positionwhereby the biasing force must be overcome by the user in order to movethe second portion 108 to the second position. Also, in one embodiment,the first position is a position where the mouth portion 112 of the mask100 is generally closed (see, e.g., FIGS. 1A, 2A and 3A) and the secondposition is a position where the mouth portion 112 of the mask 100 isgenerally open (see, e.g., FIGS. 1B, 2B and 3B), wherein movement of theuser's jaw from a generally closed-mouth position to a generallyopen-mouth position causes the second portion 108 of the interior shell102 to move from the first position to the second position. While thesecond portion 108 moves in response to jaw movement of the user, itwill be appreciated that the second portion 108 may be engaged with theuser in any suitable location and move in response to any suitablemovement of the user. For example, and without limitation, the secondportion may move in response to movement of the user's cheek(s),forehead, nose, eyelid(s), lip(s), finger(s), arm(s), hand(s), leg(s),etc. Also, while the mouth portion 112 of the mask 100 moves in responseto movement by the user in the illustrative embodiment, it will beappreciated that any suitable portion of the mask 100 and/or any portionof the interior shell 102 may move in response to movement by the user,including, but not limited to, lip(s), forehead, cheek portion(s), nose,eyelid(s), etc. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, theinterior shell may include one or more eye apertures 116, and any othersuitable features to enhance comfort and/or further anthropomorphize themask 100.

The exterior portion 104 may be coupled to, or otherwise disposed about,the interior shell 102. The exterior portion 104 may include one or moreeye apertures 128, a mouth aperture 118, or any other suitableanthropomorphizing feature. The exterior portion 104 may be formed fromany suitable material, including, but not limited to, polyurethane, foamlatex, open cell foam, closed cell foam, an elastomeric material, paper,polymer, corrugated cardboard, composite, polymer, or any other suitablematerial. The exterior portion 104 is operable to deform when theinterior shell second portion 108 is moved from the first position tothe second position. Alternatively, a portion of the exterior portion104 may be operable to move between a first position and a secondposition with corresponding movements of the interior shell secondportion 108.

In the illustrative embodiment, one or more bands 122 extend from theinterior shell second portion 108, through apertures 124 in the interiorshell upper portion 106 and are coupled behind an upper lip portion 126of the exterior portion 104. Thus, as the interior shell second portion108 is moved to its second position, the bands 122 may pull the upperlip portion 126 upwards thereby widening the mouth aperture 118 of theexterior portion 104 and exposing, or further exposing, teeth 120 formedin the interior shell upper portion 106 from behind the exterior portion104. The bands 122 may be formed from any suitable material including,but not limited to, wire, polymer, elastomer, composite, etc. While theillustrative embodiment employs bands 122 to couple the interior shellsecond portion 108 to the exterior portion 104 such that movement of thesecond portion 108 may be imparted to at least a portion of the exteriorportion 104, it will be appreciated that such movement may be impartedin any number of ways and the present disclosure is not limited to theuse of such bands 122. For example, and without limitation, a frictionfit between the interior shell second portion 108 and at least a portionof the exterior portion 104 may be employed.

While the illustrative embodiment shows a mouth aperture 118 as becominglarger and exposing teeth 120 when the interior shell second portion 108is moved to its second position, it will be appreciated that the presentdisclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, movementof the interior shell second portion 108 may cause movement and/ordeformation of any portion of the exterior portion 104. For example, andwithout limitation, movement of the interior shell second portion 108may cause movement in one or more portions of the exterior portion 104,including, but not limited to, cheek(s), forehead, nose, eye(s), eyelid(s), chin, ear(s), lower lip, upper lip, etc. It will also beappreciated that the deformation and/or movement of the exterior portion104 in response to movement of the interior shell second portion 108 mayor may not include one or more apertures and may or may not include anyof such apertures becoming larger or smaller, etc. Furthermore, it willbe appreciated that deformation and/or movement of the exterior portion104 may or may not expose, or further expose, one or more portions orfeatures of the interior shell 102.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A mask comprising: a rigid interior shell for placing over a user'sface, the interior shell comprising: a first portion; a second portionhingedly secured to the first portion, the second portion operable tomove between a first position and a second position in response tomovement by the user; and a resilient exterior portion coupled to theinterior shell, wherein at least a portion of the exterior portiondeforms when the interior shell second portion is moved from the firstposition to the second position.
 2. The mask of claim 1 wherein theinterior shell second portion is hingedly secured to the interior shellfirst portion via one or more elastic bands.
 3. The mask of claim 1wherein the interior shell first portion overlays an upper portion ofthe face of the user.
 4. The mask of claim 1 wherein at least a portionof the interior shell second portion engages the jaw of the user.
 5. Themask of claim 1 wherein the resilient exterior portion is formed frompolyurethane.
 6. The mask of claim 1 wherein the resilient portionincludes an aperture, wherein the aperture becomes larger when theresilient portion deforms.
 7. The mask of claim 1 wherein a portion ofthe interior shell is exposed from behind the exterior portion when theexterior portion deforms.
 8. A mask comprising: a rigid interior shellfor placing over a user's face, the interior shell comprising: a firstportion; a second portion hingedly secured to the first portion, thesecond portion operable to move between a first position and a secondposition in response to movement by the user; a resilient exteriorportion positioned over the interior shell, wherein at least a portionof the resilient member is capable of moving between a first positionand a second position; and a band extending between the interior shellsecond portion and resilient exterior portion, wherein the band isoperable to move the resilient exterior portion from the resilientexterior portion first position to the resilient exterior portion secondposition when the interior shell second portion is moved from theinterior shell first position to the interior shell second position. 9.The mask of claim 8 wherein the interior shell second portion ishingedly secured to the interior shell first portion via one or moreelastic bands.
 10. The mask of claim 8 wherein the interior shell firstportion overlays an upper portion of the face of the user.
 11. The maskof claim 8 wherein at least a portion of the interior shell secondportion engages the jaw of the user.
 12. The mask of claim 8 wherein theresilient exterior portion is formed from foam latex.
 13. The mask ofclaim 8 wherein the resilient portion includes an aperture, wherein theaperture becomes larger when the resilient portion moves from theresilient portion first position to the resilient portion secondposition.
 14. A mask comprising: an interior shell comprising: an upperportion for placing over an upper portion of a user's face; a lowerportion for placing over a lower portion of the user's face such that aportion of the shell lower portion engages the jaw of the user, whereinthe second portion is hingedly coupled to the interior shell firstportion and wherein the lower portion is moved between a closed positionand an open position in response to corresponding movements by theuser's jaw; and an exterior portion coupled to the interior shell,wherein at least a portion of the exterior portion deforms when theinterior shell second portion moves from the closed position to the openposition.
 15. The mask of claim 14 wherein the interior shell lowerportion is hingedly coupled to the interior shell upper portion via oneor more elastic bands.
 16. The mask of claim 14 wherein the exteriorportion is formed from a resilient material.
 17. The mask of claim 16wherein the resilient material is polyurethane.
 18. The mask of claim 14wherein the exterior portion includes an aperture, wherein the aperturebecomes larger when the exterior portion deforms.
 19. The mask of claim14 wherein a portion of the interior shell is exposed from behind theexterior portion when the exterior portion deforms.
 20. The mask ofclaim 14 further comprising a band extending between the interior shelllower portion and the exterior portion, wherein the band is operable todeform the exterior portion when the interior shell lower portion ismoved to the open position.